


Sealed With Blood

by DelilahBlueEyes



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Blood Play, Deal, F/M, True Blood AU, vampire
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-23
Updated: 2014-06-08
Packaged: 2018-01-09 18:55:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1149584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DelilahBlueEyes/pseuds/DelilahBlueEyes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a Rumbelle (loosely based) True Blood-like AU. Mr. Gold is the resident loan shark and pawn broker, though he tends to conduct most of his business at night due to an acute case of vampirism. Belle is looking for a way to relieve her father’s financial burden and decides to make an offer more valuable than money or sexual favors: her blood.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry I've been inactive so long, guys. I promise I'm planning to continue everything I've posted here but I've been very busy and very non-inspired lately. Hope you enjoy this!

Belle wiped sweaty palms on the skirt of her sundress and pulled the straps closer to her neck. She considered shifting her breasts higher in her borrowed push-up bra but worried it would not help her cause since they would be a minor attraction at the most. The sun beat down on her bare shoulders comfortingly but the building before her seemed to be shrouded in darkness. With one steadying breath, she pushed the door to the town’s pawnshop open and stepped inside. The room was murky as an old fish tank as she moved forward with both hands raised. The toe of her strappy sandal knocked against something solid and the resulting crash of a tub of umbrellas spilling across the dusty floor frightened her back a step. She raised a hand to her suddenly racing heart and scolded herself for her clumsiness. And really, there was nothing to fear in this cluttered old place.

“I would ask that you use caution, miss. Can’t have my merchandise cracked to pieces before I can sell it.”

She squinted into the gloom and caught the silhouette of a man standing behind the long glass counter at the back of the room. Mr. Gold. She wondered if he could hear her heart beating from here; if he was even now counting the steps it would take to catch her up in his grasp and…. No. It was broad daylight outside. He wouldn’t risk getting caught with a dead girl in his shop in the middle of town. At least she hoped not. She’d come so close to asking Ruby to come with her but decided against it when she remembered that the red extensions were the most adventurous her friend had gotten since the seventh grade. She was taking a risk here, one she hoped she’d calculated properly.

“I’m- I’m sorry, my eyes hadn’t quite adjusted yet.” Much as every instinct in her mind told her to keep her eyes on the predator in the room, Belle crouched on the carpet and gathered the umbrellas back into their basket, tipping it right ways up again and dusting her hands off afterward. “There. No harm done.”

He made a noncommittal hmm in the back of his throat and Belle realized that she could make out the shine of his eyes, the shape of his mouth as he watched her. “What can I help you with, dearie? Very busy day, as you can see.”

Belle cut her eyes to each side, searching the shadows for other customers and finding none. It took her a moment too long to realize that he’d made a joke and she heard a sigh from him. Drat. She’d planned to flirt and to smile and to charm him. Not to stumble and sweat and misunderstand his jokes. A silence fell over them and she cursed herself again for not finding some knick-knack on a nearby shelf, some pretense to ease her way further into the room and a conversation with him. She was making a terrible mess of this but she had to see it through. Nothing to her left but strange metal machine pieces and to her right was only the umbrellas. She lifted one from the basket anyway. The smooth wood felt nice in her palm as she lifted it to inspect the color of the fabric and nod approvingly at nothing that she had any idea of. With a possible weapon/talking point in hand, she began to wonder how to begin a conversation like this? ‘Excuse me, Mr. vampire, but I’d like to discuss something that makes me unendingly uncomfortable but which might interest you and save my father’s life. And by the way, how much is this umbrella and is it a good stabbing implement?’ Thankfully the burden was lifted from her shoulders.

“Look, I’ll make this astoundingly easy for you. What is your name, what do you want and how many times have you asked for it before?” Mr. Gold hadn’t moved an inch since she’d come into the store, but his head tipped forward now and his hair caught the faint light as it fell into is face. 

“My name is Belle French, I’d like to discuss my father Moe’s debt and I’ve never asked for this before.” She wondered how many times a day he had this exact conversation and found herself relieved to not have to play at sex kitten vampire bait anymore. It ill suited her. 

“Ah, good old Moe. Sending his offspring to bat her eyes and make his debt disappear.” There was the glint of a ring on his finger as his hands tightened around the head of his cane. The wood creaked faintly under the strain. “Well, sorry to say, many a person has tried and it isn’t as simple as all that.”

Belle’s brow furrowed in annoyance at the assumption that her father thought so little of her and opened her mouth to tell him so, forgetting for a moment who it was she faced. “It’s nothing of the sort, actually. My father doesn’t know I’m here, but I am here on his behalf. I wasn’t going to bat my eyes at you. I was going to offer something of value.”

“Well, I’d have to disappoint in that case as well. As tempting as a roll in the hay may be, dear, I would be mad to trade thousands of dollars for your—“

“My blood!” She choked out, eager to never hear how he intended to end that sentence. Her cheeks burned and her grip on the umbrella was likely twisting the metal supports out of shape. “I was going to offer my blood.”

His head came up slowly, like some great beast scenting something tasty on the wind, and suddenly he did move. Slow and deliberate as he made his movements, she had to force herself to remain still and let him approach her. She’d said the words, put the offer onto the table, and now she couldn’t very well back out. He stopped a few feet away, to her relief, but now she could see him fully. He was impeccably dressed in a charcoal black suit, deep blue tie tightened around his throat. He held his cane before him, the ornate golden handle peeking out at her between his fingers. He wasn’t as tall as she might have thought, though the fluid motion of his body and the sharpness around his eyes suggested he could easily tear her apart if he wished. Belle crossed her fingers and prayed that he didn’t wish.

“Well, that’s certainly…. Interesting.” There was the sparkle of a gold tooth when he smiled at her. “Though also not comparative to several thousands of dollars. Succulent as I’m sure you would be.”  
Belle forced back a shudder at how he lingered on the word succulent, how his eyes dropped to her neck. She thought perhaps her blood would boil in her veins when the tip of his tongue appeared over his lips, flickering away again in a blink.

“I- I was going to offer to come here once a week and… and let you… drink my blood.” The words seemed awkward in her mouth, bringing to mind every cheap production of Dracula she’d seen on late night television as a child. She wasn’t sure what else to call it, though, and he didn’t laugh at her phrasing. “In return for forgiving my father’s debt. I know how difficult it can be to find someone willing to…. help you in this town.”

“Ah,” was all he said for long minutes. He stood and he stared unblinkingly at her as she tried to keep from fidgeting with the battered umbrella still gripped in both hands. Was he going to say anything else, damn it? Was he waiting for her to take the hint and leave? Maybe he was weighing the moral and logistical difficulties in just killing her now. It might be preferable to having to leave and know he was here with the memory of this complete train wreck of a proposition. Umbrellas weren’t made for stabbing, but it would probably do the job, for either of them. She couldn’t help but notice, even in her acute humiliation, that he smelled very nice. Like sandalwood and pine needles and something subtler, some quiet low note of something musky and-

“You said ‘was going to’,” he finally broke the silence. Then he sighed and clarified when she only stared back at him in confusion. “Before, you said ‘I was going to offer’. Was being the past tense of will. Does that mean you are now unwilling to make such an offer?”

“No, yes, I am. I- Yes, I am.” She might have been further embarrassed by stumbling over her words were she not already so relieved. This could be the solution her family needed to turn everything around, just this chance. And she wasn’t about to blow it.

“Well, we’ll need to discuss the terms of the deal first. For example, twice a week is a good starting place, but for the amount of money I’ll be excusing the only option is to be available whenever I have need of you.”

“Oh… Well, I thought…” Much as she might like to argue, it was a point she could not contest. “Yes, that is fair, though I would need some notice when you… have need of me. And I’d ask that you choose times during the day when I’ll be able to leave the house without suspicion.”

He gave her an indulgent smile, as if the thought of sleeping amused him. “Of course. I shall require your phone number, unless you’d like to train a pigeon or something of the like?”

“Oh, right.” She stepped around him and went to the desk, finding a legal pad and pen to scribble her cell phone number on. She tore off the corner of the page and brought it to him. He took it without touching her fingers and she was glad of that, tucked it into the pocket of his jacket and smiled again. “Anything else?”

“Well, you’ll have to be ready and willing to tell me if I ever hurt you. Understand that it is not my intention and say something so I can stop immediately. Other than being at my beck and call and adequate communication, I am happy to call this deal settled. How about you?” 

“I…. How long will this arrangement stand?” She hated to ask but she wanted to get the hell out of this town eventually and being indebted to a vampire didn’t bode well for her future.

He smiled again, seeming almost proud. “A very good question, dearie. Your father has owed me for quite a number of years, but I will be generous and only hold you to 5 years.”

“Five?! No way! How about one?” 

“Four and a half.”

“Two and a half.”

He quirked an eyebrow at her, though his smile never wavered. “Three and a half, and I’m afraid I’ll have to insist.”

Three and a half years. She’d be twenty-six before she left this back woods town, but at least she would be leaving it. She took a deep breath and lifted her hand. “Alright then. Deal.”

He glanced down at her hand in apparent confusion before taking it in his own and shaking it carefully. His skin was warm and dry, nothing like the stories all suggested, though those were surely all based on fiction. That same woody smell reached her nose again and she wondered if it was wrong to find it so nice under her present circumstances. Her train of thought derailed entirely when he lifted her hand higher and bent his face over it. The tip of his nose skimmed the skin on the back of her hand and her heart thundered in her chest. Was he going to do it now? He hadn’t said anything about it, though she supposed it should have occurred to her. Was she supposed to do something? Was there even anything she could do? Would the bite mark show up when he was done? Would she have to dress to keep it hidden? Oh, god, long sleeves in June would certainly be conspicuous, even in Maine.

“Thank you, Belle.” His breath warmed her fingers before he straightened again. His eyes had darkened considerably and he looked somewhat wilder, though his smile hadn’t budged. “I shall call you later in the week.”  
He stepped aside to let her pass and she found herself back out in the bright sunlight in moments. She stood dazed for a time, trying to reconcile the cheerful summer day with the heavy transaction she’d just made. Her blood for her father’s financial freedom. Worse deals had been made, she was sure, and there was no reason he need know what she’d done. Perhaps she’d send him on an extended vacation, home to visit his sister and her husband. 

Belle pulled her sunglasses out of her purse and slipped them onto her nose, hurrying as casually as she could away from the shop entrance. She’d have to keep her phone charged and maybe take an iron supplement…


	2. First Feeding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Here's the next chapter and I hope you enjoy it! I'd like to ask that everyone be patient with updates, please. I completely understand (and believe me, appreciate) excitement for new chapters but I'm very busy right now with the beginning of my semester so fic can't take priority. Thank you for all the feedback and I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint!

“Are you ready?”

Belle set her cell phone on the counter and clenched her hands together in front of her. She’d worn jeans and a button down cardigan today, not knowing where he intended to bite her or how hard it would be to cover up. He’s assured her he could heal the bite just as easily as he could make it and suggested she remove her sweater to keep from staining it. Now they stood at the counter together, her feeling exposed and shaky in her camisole but warm with him so close behind. His hands rested against the glass to either side of her own and she felt goosebumps rise over her skin when his breath tickled over the hair at the nape of her neck. 

“Probably not but if we wait until I am my three and a half years will be up and you’ll starve to death.” 

He chuckled beside her ear and put his hands over her own to still her nervous fidgeting. His shirtfront brushed her back as he stepped closer, effectively pinning her against the cool glass, though the embrace didn’t feel as oppressive as it might have. He held her carefully, almost tenderly and her heart fluttered in her chest.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Belle. I can promise you that right now. You will hardly feel it and if you do… well, I’m told it can feel quite…. Nice.” His low rumble of a laugh made her tingle and her own nervous titter trailed off as he continued to speak quietly. “I’ll never take more than may make you feel a bit lightheaded, like giving blood at the hospital. And again, if anything ever feels wrong or frightens you, you must tell me. Despite the rumors around town, I’m not a mind reader. Now, there is something we haven’t talked about yet. I wasn’t sure how to tell you when we first spoke…”

“What is it?” Had he decided three and a half years was too generous? Was he going to demand five? Was he going to tell her that there were vampire-transmitted diseases and that she should get tested at the clinic in town? Was he going to suggest she take her shirt off too?

“In the vampire community this, our arrangement, would be….. It would make it appear…. In the minds of others of my kind, what we’re about to do will mean that you belong to me.”

“Oh.”

“Not like a possession. You are not a possession to me, dearie.” His hands curled around hers, fingers ever so slightly weaving through hers as he flipped them over so they could both see her palms swallowed up by his. “More in a way that we will be considered bound to each other. You will be left alone by any strange vampires that come to Storybrooke and I will be obligated to bring you into my protection, should the need arise. Only if you prefer, of course. If not, there are various ways to make sure that no living creature could detect my presence on you.”  
Belle paused to think about that for a moment. Her father and neighbors would have no clue what she did here anyway, but any possibly dangerous strangers that came to town would know she was… spoken for, so to say, and be that much more likely to leave her unharmed. She’d never lived her life in paralyzing fear of the vampires around her, but the occasional story did crop up on the news of humans slaughtered by roving bands of psychotic fanged people. “Would it be safer? To let them know I’m…. yours?”

“For the most part I believe it would be. I am rather well known in this part of the country, as well as my tendency to… well, let’s just say I react poorly when provoked. It wouldn’t require anything from you except to continue coming to me on a regular basis. The bond will form itself and after a period of time I will even gain a sense of where you are, whether you’re ever in danger or frightened.”

She hummed to indicate she’d heard him, though she couldn’t help wonder if he’d appear at her window if she stubbed her toes in the middle of the night. “Anything else I should know? Food allergies I should be aware of? Do I need to avoid eating tree nuts?”

His laugh shook her again and she smiled in response. It was a lovely sound, really. All low and throaty and unabashed. She thought it might be nice to hear him laugh at least once every time she came to the shop. 

“No, not that I know of. Not besides the usual silver and sunlight issues.” One of his hands left hers to sweep her hair over her shoulder and he must have felt her tense. “Tell me about your studies. You opted for online courses in lieu of the traditional college experience, didn’t you?”

“Ah, yeah, I needed to stay close in case my papa fell ill again. His heart’s never been very strong since he had a heart attack almost seven years ago. He tried to send me to UMaine but I didn’t want to go even that far away. I just bought myself a new laptop with some of the money I’d saved up and signed up for online courses.”

It happened so quickly she didn’t think to flinch. His teeth slipped into her skin and his lips pressed flush against her throat. She could feel the first draw he took from her, the sting of his fangs as he swallowed. Her heart thumped against her ribs and set off at a gallop, fingers curling into fists as he sucked away another mouthful of her blood. She wasn’t panicking, not yet. But she was very, very close. He slipped an arm about her waist, flattening his hand against her stomach while the other one found hers and laced their fingers together.

“Kee’ talkin’,” he mumbled, thumb rubbing reassuringly over her ribs.

“I… mostly focus on… on literature. Library sciences and Shakespeare and American Literature courses. I know they say libraries are dying out but I can’t help but hold out hope that I’ll find a place where books are still important. I want to travel, as much as I can before I settle down anywhere. I want to see the pyramids and the Eiffel tower and the Grand Canyon. I want…..”

He prompted her with a poke to her stomach, though he never paused for a moment in his drinking. If she didn’t share her secret hopes with the man sucking out her bodily fluids, who would she share them with? She licked her lips and let her head fall back against his shoulder. 

“I want a beautiful colonial house with a sprawling garden and a willow tree out back by a lake. I want….. I want a family to put in that beautiful house. Little feet pattering across the hard wood floors in the morning and twinkle lights shining out onto the snow in the winter. I want everything to smell like roses and lilacs.”

It wasn’t until he swiped a thumb across the place where two neat puncture wounds should have been that she realized how lost she’d gotten in her musing. Smooth skin was all that met her fingers when she reached up to investigate and she turned her head just in time to see him pull his thumb out of his mouth. The sight made her mind spark with something she didn’t want to examine too closely at the moment. Not with him looking at her like that and his other hand inches away from her breasts.

“What I really want is to stop saying silly things in front of you.” She pulled her hair forward over her shoulders and saw him frown as he moved away to retrieve her sweater and bring it to her. Whatever he meant to respond with was forgotten as Belle’s knees buckled under her. He’d produced a chair in the time it took her to push herself back to standing and guided her into it.

“Here, drink this.” He reached back and picked a glass of water off the counter without looking and handed it to her, crouching before the chair. “Are you dizzy? Nauseous? Feeling faint?”

“No, I’m fine,” she protested as he pressed the back of his hand to her forehead, checked her pulse against his watch. “Really, Mr. Gold, I’m fine. It’s just…. It’s a bit intense, you know?”

But the little worry wrinkle between his eyes refused to disappear and he watched her carefully until she’d drunk all the water and another few minutes besides to make sure she wouldn’t lose consciousness as soon as he looked away. “Would you like me to arrange a car to take you home?”

“Oh, god, no.” She laughed and stood up, pulling her sweater on and heading for the front door. “Really, I swear I’m okay. If it makes you feel better, I’ll go straight home and have a cookie and some juice, okay?”

“Yes, see that you do.” He pointed a stern finger at her but his smile assured her that he was joking… probably.  
“Well, er, I suppose I’ll see you the next time you call. Ah…” She fought the bizarre instinct to thank him, imprinted from years of etiquette lessons from her mother when she was young. Unless that was normal procedure for this type of thing? Was there even a normal procedure for this type of thing? “Bye.”

“Goodbye, Belle.”

She didn’t think she should like the way his voice wrapped around her name so comfortably. Shouldn’t, but very much did. Her last thought on leaving the shop for home was to wonder whether his bright eyes and flushed skin was all in her imagination or if it was, perhaps the fresh influx of blood. Hmm. She didn’t regret this arrangement (yet) but sometimes vampires could be really creepy.


	3. Sneaking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Belle decides that horror movies are not a good idea and Moe remains blissfully unaware of his daughter's... arrangement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Peeks out from under rock*  
> *is very sorry to have been gone so long*  
> *hopes anyone is still hanging around to read this*  
> *holds out cupcake with sprinkles and a cherry on top*  
> *retreats back into hole to make more cupcakes*

Belle was deep into her popcorn and even deeper into her movie when her cell phone buzzed jerkily in its place on the coffee table. She muted her television and scooped the phone up, checking the screen for the usual out-of-state numbers that indicated bill collectors and frowning.

“Mr. Gold?” 

“What are you doing?” He sounded tense, almost annoyed. 

“I’m… watching a movie… in my pajamas…”

“Ah, that would explain it.” There was the sound of a car door shutting and fainter, the sound of his cane clicking along the ground. “A horror movie, I’m assuming?”

“Ah… yeah…. Why?” Belle sat up and looked out the living room window, half expecting to see him on his way up her driveway. She couldn’t decide if she was more disappointed or relieved to see nothing but the evening gloom. “Wait, is that…. bond… thingie happening already?”

“I would assume so, yes. What are you watching?” 

Belle settled back onto the couch and fiddled with the tv remote as something clinked in the background, likely ice cubes being dropped into a glass. “Well it’s definitely not Dracula.”

His warm chuckle made her shiver the way his breath did when it ghosted down the side of her neck. She smiled shakily and rubbed her hand over her arm to soothe the goosebumps that rose there. 

“I would hope not. You don’t need any more reasons to be so jittery around me, dearie.” He sighed and she imagined him sitting in a perfectly polished leather chair beside a fireplace, resting his cane over the arm. It was an oddly formal picture as she had yet to see him without even his jacket and couldn’t picture him anything but fully dressed. “Well, I suppose this call served the double purpose of letting me know you’re safe and sound and letting you know that I noticed something amiss in the first place.”

“Yeah, I’ll try to stick to rom coms and historical documentaries from now on. Wouldn’t want to disturb your sleep with my nightmares.” She paused to wonder if vampires slept but decided against asking. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know and besides, she couldn’t picture him sleeping in anything but a suit. “I’ve got a class to wake up for in the morning anyway so I’ll head to bed. Did you want me to come over after?”

“No, that’s alright, dearie. Focus on your studies. I’ll live through the weekend without a visit, I think.”

She smiled as she thought of the way his mouth turned up when he made a comment he was pleased with. It was a familiar sight, as somehow endearingly smug as he was.

“Alright, then. G’night.”

“Good night, Belle. Sleep well.” 

Belle flipped her phone shut and bit her lip, watching the lights from the tv shifting along the ceiling as Mina cradled Dracula on the floor of the ruined chapel. It was with a slight embarrassment that she realized she was disappointed not to be seeing him the next day. They’d made the deal that released her father nearly a month ago and it hadn’t taken nearly that time for her days to settle into a routine of studying, working in her father’s shop and giving her blood to her mysterious new… friend? It wasn’t the most traditional situation, to be sure, but it was pleasant enough for what it was and she did enjoy talking to him. He’d recommended a book that she planned to search the library for and she’d brought a handful of daisies to brighten up his gloomy shop. Ignore the fact that after he’d recommended the book he’d sucked out a pint of her blood and it was almost what she would call tentative dating. Not that she could ignore it, of course. He was very tactile during his feeding and would always hold her hand or stroke her hip. It was a nice distraction from the odd sensations around her throat but brought on even odder, tingly feelings that she couldn’t seem to find another distraction from.

She’d have to explain to her father soon why he wasn’t expected to pay his usual installments to Mr. Gold, and she didn’t think a sudden stroke of luck with the lottery or a mysterious benefactor would quite soothe his anxiety on the matter. Well, that could wait a while. Until then she had a 12-page paper to proof read, an equally important Friends marathon to watch and a shipment of flowers to receive in the morning while her father was still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. The credits rolled at the end of her movie and she shut the tv off and went upstairs to bed. She fell asleep with her fingers curled around her cell phone and dreamt of Mr. Gold lapping whisky out of the hollow of her throat in the flickering shadows cast by a low-burning fire.

Class took longer than she thought on their slow internet connection and therefore her father beat her to meeting the flower truck.

“Morning, love. Help me trim these roses, would you?” She kissed her father on the cheek as she passed and took up a pair of shears. “I swear if we find one more plant sick with scale we’re switching distributors.”

“Switching to whom, papa? There isn’t exactly much competition up here unless you’d like to try to ship in from Montreal.” 

“Well, if they can’t sort out their bloody greenhouses we might just have to. Can’t believe those morons can’t keep a bloody bunch of flowers clean but they want to raise the prices on their…”

Belle rolled her eyes as he continued to mutter bad-naturedly to himself. They had this conversation on a monthly basis and she always had to remind him how impractical it was to try to switch distributors if every flower wasn’t pristine. He could be so petulant sometimes. Which reminded her.

“I’m going to meet some friends for lunch in a while. Would you like me to take your check to Mr. Gold’s shop on my way?” She kept her eyes down while she asked but she still felt his stare.

“It’s a bit out of the way for the diner, Belle. Are you sure you don’t mind?” She gave him her most vacuous smile and shook her head and he grinned sheepishly. “Alright, then. Can’t say I’m not glad to be able to avoid that man. Be safe, though. Wear your mother’s cross and just slip the money through the mail slot in the door.”

After trimming and checking all of the roses, Moe told her he could handle the rest of the shipment and she went upstairs to collect her things. She could go to the diner and see Ruby for a while then take a book to the park for a few hours. She slipped the envelope that contained that month’s rent payment into a pocket inside her purse, glad that she wouldn’t have to explain the slight amount of money inside to their debtor. She’d find small ways to put this into taking care of them, buying some groceries and fixing the lock on the front door and refilling her father’s prescriptions. And of course he’d notice eventually that Gold’s henchmen hadn’t come for his blood as a result of the meager payments. She’d have an explanation for that. She’d think of something…. Hopefully.

Belle caught a flicker of movement at the corner of her vision and turned just in time to see the shop door shut behind someone. Good, she thought, the more business they got before next month, the less sneaking she’d have to do behind her father’s back on top of the whole blood sacrifice stuff, of course. She put on her sunglasses and wandered off for her first free afternoon in quite a while.


End file.
